Halflife
by raven's-incarnation
Summary: When Beast Boy gets the chicken pox, Raven gets a migraine, and Cyborg disappears, Starfire and Robin must face a new enemy alone ((slight RobStar, please R&R))
1. Pox of Chicken

Chapter One

As the scene opens, Beast Boy is lying miserably on the couch, covered with angry red spots. He tries to covertly scratch the back of his neck.

"Ow!" he shouts, as Cyborg slaps his hand.

"What have I told you about scratching?" Cyborg warns.

"But they _itch_!" Beast Boy whines, "What's the point of something itching if you can't scratch it?"

"BB, don't make me go back to the potholders ..."

"Okay, okay, no more scratching," says Beast Boy sullenly.

Starfire floats in holding a large steaming bowl. "I have prepared something which shall cure your pox of chickens!" she glows.

Beast Boy blanches. "Uh, I'm not sure Tamaranian food is gonna help ... the sliminess and bugs and all, you know..."

"This is not Tamaranian," says Starfire triumphantly, "This is an Earth dish called a 'chicken soup'!"

Beast Boy looks skeptical. "It doesn't have chicken in it, does it?"

"Robin told me to remove the chicken," she replies, and looks puzzled, "Though I do not understand removing chicken from a chicken soup ..."

Beast Boy breathes a sigh of relief. "Okay, long as it doesn't jiggle or have meat in it." Beaming, Starfire hands to bowl to Beast Boy, who begins to slurp it up hungrily.

Robin walks in and looks around. "Anybody seen Raven?"

"Not since this morning," says Cyborg, "She came in, made some tea, and disappeared again ... Come to think of it, she didn't look so good."

Starfire gasps. "Has she contracted the pox of chickens?" she exclaims in distress.

Robin shrugs. "I don't know. She wasn't around Beast Boy much, but I suppose it's possible. I've already had it, Cyborg's systems can filter it out, Starfire's immune to it ... I'm not sure about Raven."

"I shall fix another bowl of 'chicken soup' for Raven!" Starfire declares, and shoots toward the kitchen.

"Wait! Star — " Robin begins, following her into the kitchen.

Starfire is busy boiling water and banging dishes around, humming. "Hold on, Star," Robin says, "Maybe Raven just wants to be alone. You know how she is."

Starfire briskly measures chicken broth powder into the boiling water. "But I must be sure she has not become sick! If she has, I must cure her."

"But ..." Robin begins, then trails off. "Hm, maybe she _is_ sick. Alright, just be warned. You know what she's like when people disturb her when she's meditating."

"I will endeavor not to disturb her," says Starfire, ripping open a bag of noodles and dumping them into the water.

Starfire walks up to the door marked "Raven", bowl of steaming soup in hand. She puts her ear to the door and, hearing nothing, knocks gently.

"Raven, it is Starfire. Have you gotten the pox of chicken?"

No answer. Starfire waits for a moment, then knocks again.

"Raven?"

She jumps, as she hears a shattering noise from inside.

"Raven?!" she exclaims in concern, and puts her hand on the door handle.

The door slides open and Raven is standing directly behind it. Starfire gasps before she realizes that her friend's eyes are covered with a dark cloth and a hot water bottle is sitting on her head.

"I have a headache," she declares, rasping more than usual, "Sound aggravates it."

"I am sorry, friend Raven," Starfire whispers, "Do you wish to consume a chicken soup?"

"Maybe later. Tell the others not to disturb me for a few days."

"Alright," whispers Starfire, and the door shuts abruptly.


	2. Empty Room

Chapter Two

After Beast Boy has finished the second bowl of soup - the one originally meant for Raven - he begins flipping sullenly through the TV channels.

"I recognize that cooking show. You're back at the beginning again, BB," says Cyborg, who is lounging beside him.

"Yeah well, maybe something's changed since five minutes ago," he mumbles.

Cyborg groans. "Alright, I've had it. Whaddaya say we watch a movie?"

Beast Boy shrugs, and unconsciously reaches up to scratch his shoulder. Cyborg slaps his hand and, ignoring Beast Boy's exclamation, he gets up from the couch.

"Ah, it'll be fun. I'll go see what I can dig up."

As Cyborg nears his room, he is puzzled to hear faint music. When he arrives at the door, he can distinctly hear clamorous rock music playing from inside his room.

"That's strange," he says to himself, "I didn't leave anything on. Wait a minute, that isn't even my music!"

As the door slides open, Cyborg is greeted by a wall of blaring noise, making him cringe. The familiar lights of many computer panels shines around him, and the flickering bars of the decibel counter on his main computer screen match the tempo of the music. Its speakers vibrate from the volume.

"Geez!" he exclaims, covering his ears and reaching for the volume buttons.

He clicks. Nothing happens.

"Aurgh!" Cyborg snarls in frustration, "Alright, it was a funny joke, but this is going too far!" He starts tapping on the control panel to cut off the music manually, muttering under his breath about doing painful things to "the little green lintball".

Suddenly, a corner of the screen begins to flash.

"What the — ?" Cyborg exclaims, then realizes what the flashing means.

Simultaneous to this realization, the music abruptly cuts out, and Cyborg's world goes black.

Beast Boy sighs and coughs as he passes the same soap opera for the fifth time. What's sad is that he actually knows what's going on. This blond girl just broke up with her boyfriend, who was cheating on her with her sister ...

"Dude, where's Cyborg?" he wonders aloud, "He can't have _that_ many movies."

"Who is missing?" Starfire asks, strolling in with a thermometer.

"Cyborg. He went to get a movie like twenty minutes ago."

"I did not realize the selection of a movie required that much time," she says, coming to sit next to the changeling, "Say 'aha'!"

"It's 'ah', Starf — " Beast Boy starts to say, before she jams the thermometer into his mouth.

"Now don't bite it," she cautions apparently having a delightful time playing nurse, "I shall find Cyborg and help him choose a movie."

She pushes off from the couch and zooms out of the room.

Finally alone, Beast Boy glances around and tentatively scratches his side.

"Cyborg?" Starfire calls, as she stands in front of his door getting a feeling of deja vu.

As before, there is no answer.

Hesitantly, Starfire opens the door and steps into the dimly lit room. Computer panels blink and flash at her, making faint beeping noises, and the whirr of hardware hums through the floor. She scans the room, but finds herself alone.

"Perhaps he has gone to collect unhealthy junk foods, as is part of the ritual," she muses, and turned to go.

Someone tall is standing silhouetted in the doorway.

Starfire gasps and instinctively jumps back. "Cyborg, is that you?" she asks.

Instead of replying, the figure leaps from the doorway towards the slender Tamaranian.

Ducking out of the way, Starfire unleashes her starvolts. One misses, but the other hits the attacker in the side. He grunts in pain and stumbles against a control panel. Starfire rounds on the intruder in midair for another volley, and finally gets a look at him - only to find his body covered by a black bodysuit and his face with a mask that is half black and half red.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Cyborg?" Starfire demands, starvolts crackling in her hands.

Uncharacteristically, the stranger laughs dryly. "You shall see - quite soon!" he rasps, and, using the panel as leverage, he ducks into the shadow behind the computer. Starfire throws her starvolts, but too late. She flies around the computer in pursuit, but finds no one ... and no apparent means of escape.


End file.
